Following Man Utd’s 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Tuesday, Patrice Evra revealed that he spoke privately with Bruno Fernandes about Cristiano Ronaldo after a game earlier in the season.
Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Fred got the goals as Erik ten Hag’s side returned to the Premier League with a win after the World Cup break, while Ronaldo has since left the club.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner, who continues to be linked with a move with Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr on a free transfer, became a difficult personality at the club since Ten Hag joined this summer. His contract was terminated after the Portugal captain criticised the club, his manager and the Glazer family in an interview with Piers Morgan.
Many pundits and fans felt that Fernandes’ best performances at United have come without Ronaldo on the pitch, and Evra had the same opinion. He explained as much to the United playmaker in a conversation previously, and the midfielder refused to admit that he agreed with the Amazon Prime Video Sport pundit.
“Bruno Fernandes has to be the main man and you can feel it now Ronaldo is not here anymore and you can feel that he is the boss again,” Evra told Amazon after United’s win over Forest. “He is the one taking the free-kicks, the one taking the corner kicks and I am sorry, that is what Bruno Fernandes needs.
Bruno Fernandes gave his private view on Cristiano Ronaldo to Patrice Evra. (Image: Getty)
“I remember when I talked with him after a game and he didn’t want to say that, because he would be like ‘I can’t play with every player’, but you can’t have two chefs like they say in French, and that’s what happened so I am not surprised about the performance of Bruno Fernandes.”
Fernandes impressed during the victory over Steve Cooper’s outfit, was at the heart of several good moves forward and was unfortunate not to come away with an assist from the game. His ball forward created the chance for Rashford to tee up Martial for the second goal, and Antony missed a big chance after the Portuguese star created an opportunity for him to score.
Patrice Evra explained that he got Bruno Fernandes’ private view on Cristiano Ronaldo. (Image: Amazon Prime Video Sports)
Before the game, Evra explained that fans should expect a “brighter” Fernandes now that Ronaldo is no longer at the club.
“I’ll be honest with you, people were criticising him a lot at the beginning of the season and every time Cristiano Ronaldo wasn’t on the pitch Bruno Fernandes would always have a great performance because he’s the main man, and needs to be the main man,” Evra added.
“When he arrived at Man Utd his debut was just unbelievable, I didn’t expect such an impact in a short time. Now, you will see a brighter Bruno Fernandes again and he will be the man again. I’m really confident about him performing well in the rest of the season.”
source: https://www.express.co.uk/
